Be Your Own Taxidermist

Information is more readily available now than at any other time and that is good news for hunters. I have learned how to be my own basic gunsmith, electronic gadget trouble shooter and even became my own consumer advocate on which gear is worth owning. By using the internet, you can learn many things including how to become your own taxidermist.

YouTube is the obvious place to go, but www.taxidermy.net (T-Net) is a fantastic taxidermy forum that will take you a year to read through if you are interested in taxidermy at all. The site consists of amateurs, novices and seasoned taxidermy veterans who are the best in the world.

The folks at T-Net prefer that you have some knowledge and understanding of general taxidermy before you show up on the forums and ask a bunch of questions that have most likely been asked before. Also, it is just common courtesy to do your homework before asking for, or receiving, free advice and tips on something that most taxidermists have spent years learning.

I would suggest that a beginner head over to YouTube and learn the fundamental steps on preparing capes and hides for taxidermy use. Properly skinning animals and knowing where to make your cuts is the first step. Next, fleshing and turning skins is a valuable piece of knowledge that will set someone up with a lifetime of putting their taxidermy specimens to good use. It’s all there for your viewing pleasure if you can stand the ads and find the right videos.

YouTube is also a great place to learn how different people accomplish different tans on various animal skins. Tanning is the third most important process in taxidermy, after skinning/caping and fleshing/turning.

Once you learn how the whole taxidermy process works and after you have at least made some attempt at doing your own mount of some kind, you can go to T-Net and start refining your work with some of the best free tips found anywhere in the world. There are actual written tutorials that can help you go from hackidermist to taxidermist in less time than you might think.

Besides great info, one of the best resources at T-net is are the contacts and friends you can make in your quest for knowledge. One of my best friends of seven years was met on T-Net. The internet is a strange place, but you can use it to learn almost anything you desire.